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This exhibition featured work created by the Little School students and their parents, as a result of their participation in ArteJuntos/ArtTogether, a multi-session collaboration between the Katonah Museum of Art and local Westchester schools and community organizations.
ArteJuntos/ArtTogether is a nationally-recognized, bilingual art and family literacy program that introduces low-income, educationally at-risk pre-school children and their families to the museum as a resource for informal learning, discovery and creativity. Working with educators throughout Westchester County since 2005, ArteJuntos serves bilingual Latino families, with the goal of supporting school readiness and parent engagement.
During the course of the 2014-15 academic year, KMA educators have worked closely with First Steps teachers to facilitate a comprehensive, age-appropriate program that uses the museum’s exhibitions as a springboard for dialogue and learning, while connecting to the pre-school curriculum.
Approximately 60 families from the Little School participated in the program, which was from October through May, and included two parent sessions, nine classroom session and two visits to the museum.
Using works of art in the KMA’s exhibitions to develop the curriculum, ArteJuntos supports the children’s emergent literacy, observation skills, expressive and receptive language, and critical thinking skills. Through inquiry-based discussions using original art and picture book illustrations, and related art-making activities, children develop the ability to identify shapes, colors, and objects, expand their vocabularies and develop their fine motor skills.
With the aim of empowering parents to become resourceful facilitators of their children’s learning, the program’s innovative design includes parents as participants who work side by side with their children in the classroom, as well as in the museum.
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